Several notable changes have been made to the reintroduced Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act (AHCIA).The legislation still seeks a 50% increase in the 9% low-income housing tax credit authority. However, the increase would be phased in over two years instead of five years as proposed in earlier versions.
Introduced in the House and Senate on April 15, the bills (S. 1136 and H.R. 2573) also call for reducing the bond financing threshold from 50% to 25%, a move expected to significantly increase the amount of housing that can be built or preserved.
“The Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act is the solution we need now to provide affordable homes for struggling renters and to help rebuild our economy and infrastructure,” said Emily Cadik, executive director of the Affordable Housing Tax Credit Coalition. “This bipartisan legislation would provide more than 2 million sorely needed affordable homes over the next decade through a proven model that leverages both the public and private sectors.”
Read a guest commentary by Cadik about the reintroduced bill.
In the Senate, the bill was introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). The AHCIA was introduced in the House by Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), Don Beyer (D-Va.), and Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio).
The AHCIA also aims to make other improvements to the housing credit program, including streamlining income-averaging for bond-financed developments and providing flexibility for existing tenants’ income eligibility. It also addresses the student rule, clarifying that formerly homeless youth and victims of human trafficking are eligible for affordable housing even if in school full time.
“Never has the importance of affordable housing been more clear—and its scarcity felt more severely—than now, a year into a global pandemic, when so many are facing housing instability. It is imperative that Congress pass the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act this year,” said Stockton Williams, executive director of the National Council of State Housing Agencies.
The National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA) also applauded the reintroduction of the bills.“The urgency to provide affordable housing is significant as COVID recovery continues and this legislation will be an important step toward that goal. We look forward to working with other stakeholders on advancing this legislation in 2021,” said NALHFA executive director Jonathan Paine.
